RIP Snowy the Elf

Snowy (n. Matel), the Cellucci’s Elf on the Shelf, went missing on the second Sunday in Advent and it is believed that he will never be seen again. Snowy came to the house in 2010 in an initial attempt to improve toddler behavior during the month of December, and also because everyone else was doing it. His disappearance has been shocking and incredibly upsetting, particularly to the children, as it was only two weeks ago that the entire household was eager for his seasonal return. While the family is not seeking a formal investigation, the theories around his disappearance circle around 3 prime suspects 1) yet another distraction from the real reason for the season, 2) the realization of a further abdication of parental authority, 3) one more failed attempt to lead and change behavior by pointing to and threatening with, a manufactured, distant, and untouchable dynamic as opposed to embracing true Christian values. It’s worth acknowledging the irony as those values became incarnational on the exact feast Snowy proposes to protect. The result of this well-intentioned but misguided attempt to prepare for the birth of our Savior was quite the opposite and included extreme anxiety and disproportionate emotional reactions by all.

A memorial will not take place and in lieu of flowers, the family requests that you never speak of Snowy again in front of the children, and more importantly, that in our leadership at home, in the office, or at the parish, we all remember this Advent that God’s loving gift of His Son and how that gift should inform how we live, is the only supernatural force we need to focus on this holiday.